Destiny: Darkness descending
by Aiex72
Summary: A story of my own Raid and the assembling of its team. Based largely grimore cards and the new one at the start. Give these guardians a shot.
1. Chapter 1: Darkness Appearing

**Th̡e͠ Lab͟yri̡n͜th̵, i̕ns͡idè ̢iş a̧ ̴g̢a͜t͘e. ̴The ͠gate̵ i̸s̡ ͝n͡o͜t ́li͏gh̀t̶,͏ ̨bu͝t it͜ i͠s̵ n̷ot̨ the dar̶k҉n͏e͢ss.͜**

**̡I͞ tra̢v̧e̶le͠d t͜h̢e̵ ̴r͟u̕i͡n̵s̶ ǫf̨ Mercury͞ th̷r̸o̕u͝gh ͟th͜e͟ èndl̴e͢ss d͡re̛a͜m͘s anḑ count͠èd͞ ͢the̛ in̸fin̸i̛te͟ r͠e͜d ̸ligh̡ts, ͠e̕ac̶h͏ a͢ sta҉r͘ o̶f̵ ͡i҉t͏s ̨o̸wņ ̶ŗùle̸d ̢by͏ ̵t́h̢e̵ o̵r͏bit o̢f à ̢g͝re͞ąt͢e͝r͠ s̵t͟a͝r͘. ͡Ève̛ry̨ ͡s͠tar ̴le͡d̀ bàc̸k͢ t͜o͢ the ҉gate. Th͠e̶ m͞aste̵r o̸f th̕e ̷g͡a̴t̀e ̕s̴leeps, a ̀s͠e̷paŕat́e͢ sta͞r f̕ro͞m tḩe̶ ͏ot͟h̡e̶rs. I͘n͘ i̢ts͠ ͘s͞lee͜p̶ it d͝i̧r͞e̕ctś ̢th̷em͢ f̧o̡rwar̸d a̢n̷d̛ ̵b͘a̧c̕k͟war̸d, ͘to ͘t̸h̢e ga͠tę ͏an͡d͝ ̵n̢o̧t to ͞i̶t. ͝The ga͞te҉ la͞y͏s͘ b͠urìȩd ҉in a se͏a o͡f d̷a̛rknes̀s̡, gr͞ow͠n dèe̴p͟er ańd̕ d̷ee͝p̕e͏r̢ wit̷h e͏very͝ ͟use. ̶T̷he ͟maste̴r and ̶thè gate͞ are̸ ̡g͜úa̸rded by͟ a͜ ̶su҉n s҉o ́br̴ig̸ht i͞t lights th̢e sea͘.̡**

**̵**

**The ̷L̴e̴vi̴atḩa͜n m̧ake͢s̸ its͝ ho̵me̢ in ͢t̨h̷e s̛e̴a.͏ ͏It̛ does̶ ̛no͡t ḱnow͝ of̵ the ̡l͘i͠ģh͏t,͝ nor ͘ḑo̧ȩs ͡it k̀ņòw̴ of th̶e da̧rkne͜s̛s ̛i͝t b̢o͡ŗro̸w̵s̨ thr҉o͘ug̷h̕.̛ A̴ll͝ i͝t̷ k̡n̢o̢ws ̕įs̷ ̶th͏at it ҉a͟nd i̡ts ͞sưn̢s̛ ̡m͘ust̛ d̢ev̀ou͜r̸ the ̶he̕a̷rt̶s̨ of th̀ose ̛who ar͡e n̨ot ̶s̷un̸s. ̵I͞t d͘oes ̡not͡ ̀obe̵y th̶e ̀s̸u͘n͘s, b͏u̢t͞ it ͘pr͟ot͘e̸c͝ts t̵he̕ír sl̷um̡b͝e̵r ̢ánd҉ pas̷sag̴e̡.**

**͡M̕y͠ ̸drèams̀ do n͝o̕t e͢nd͢, ҉bu̧t ͠t̶h́e̶ ͡s̶l͘u̢m͞be͜r̶ dǫes.**

* * *

"They'll be here in another thirty seconds, just you wait, any second now," said a warlock in red robes.

"You are an idiot Rand, how the hell are the Vex going to show up here, there isn't a portal in miles!"

"Ja, shut up and watch."

The two warlocks stood there staring at a small crater in the middle of a cave on Venus. They'd already been there for a few hours waiting and the Exo Ja-119 was getting tired. He hadn't really believed his friend's reports of Vex appearing here without any portal or even a cloud of darkness. Ja didn't mind the chance to look around the planet though, the lush green landscapes, ancient architecture. Unlike most Exo's, Ja didn't question his ability to experience beauty. Screw it; if a weapon of war wanted to see beauty, why not.

Rand on the other hand wasn't excited to be here. He had been here on research when he ran into the Vex. The last time they appeared he had almost been overcome by a group of Minotaurs. He was thankful to have the destructive power of a Voidwalker with him.

"Blarg, Forget it," Rand said a few minutes later. "As long as it doesn't happen again, I don't care about it." He started to throw his Three Little Words onto his shoulder- just as a horde of Hobgoblins appeared before them.

"Oh, come on!" Rand yelled as Ja fumbled with the safety on his rifle.


	2. Chapter 2: Darkness Avenged

Warlocks, Voidwalkers in particular, have great capabilities in being scholars. However they do contain impressive combat skills as well. Hunters, though, excel above all others inside the wilderness. Even the Titan's fighting prowess are inferior, being more suited for organized group combat.

_Excerpt taken from_ Vanguard's Three Ways

Rand and Ja stumbled out of the cave, their visors adjusting to the changed light level automatically. They had made it out alive after a grueling fight. Their ammo hadn't lasted through the fight and they both had died once during the last part of it.

"I told you they were coming out of nowhere!"

"Hey Rand, shut up."

"No, I am not going-" Rand froze mid sentence and looked at the scene in front of him.

"Well then," said Ja from behind him.

A fallen skiff was docked in the immediate clearing unloading crates of ether. Several Captains and a Baron watched over the dregs and vandals. One of the captains spotted them and cried out to the others and in moments the sky was filled with shrapnel and arc blasts. The two warlocks looked at each other and nodded.

Rand led them charging towards the Fallen, "For the Monarchy!" His red robes blowing in the wind. Ja followed with his own charge, "I don't want to do this!"

Rand sprinted right at a group of vandals crowded together, gliding over their heads. Followed behind him came Ja's nova bomb, disintegrating the lot of them.

Rand landed on top of a Captain and shoved a Solar Flare in its face before sliding off of her. Ja's Axion Bolt finished the captain off and the two Warlocks ran together towards a group of dregs around a rock.

"Can you Radiance?"

"No, got any grenades?"

"Nope."

"Blarg."

"Yeah... well I give it thirty seconds before they overrun us."

"Got any plans, Ja?"

"Run?"

Jumping over a rock, a Captain raised its swords to slash at the guardians. Before either of them could react a glowing blue blade appeared inside the Falls chest. A Blade Dancer had appeared out of thin air and started slashing away at a group of Dregs. A dozen Stealth Vandals rushed him, then disintegrated in a wave of destruction. Vandals, Dregs, and Captains fell alike until just the Baron, with a knife sticking out of the side of its face, was left standing. The fallen skiff took off abandoning the Baron and the ether.

Rand and Ja started to charge to help the Hunter when the Baron was but as they started to run the Baron was vaporized by a fusion rifle. Turning around, the Hunter walked over to the Warlocks.

* * *

The three guardians sat around the burning stacks of ether. The two Warlocks staring at the Hunter before them. His arc blade wasn't glowing anymore but it was in his hand being sharpened against the Baron's sword. Standing up, the Hunter walked over to the flaming ether.

"We shouldn't be burning this, we should be taking it back to the tower for study. I've never seen so much of it gathered before."

"I know Rand, but do you want to be the one to argue with him?"

"Actually, I thought it would be better if you did it because, um, well, you're a Voidwalker."

"What! How does that make any sense?"

"Well, I'm a Sunsinger, so I would get along better with a Gunslinger."

"You are an idiot, Rand."

"I'm burning it to send a message," said the Hunter walking back to them. He took off his Raku Vindicator Helmet and the two Warlock's saw he was an Exo. Rotating his jaw he said, "The Future War Cult sent me to deliver it to the Fallen. I was asked personally by a friend of mine who is one of their members. That Baron, Durgis, he was from the House of Devils. He was here overseeing some trade deal going on between the Devils and the House of Winter. Unfortunately for the hungry House of Winter, our friend Durgis had a bit of a reputation of pillaging human settlement and such outside of the city. I have been tracking him for weeks, waiting for him to make the delivery. This fire here," he continued, gesturing to a module glowing green next to the pyre, "this is a warning and that is a message recorded for the rest of the Fallen: We are ready for war, are you ready to burn? Now, the question is: what are you two Tower dwellers doing here?"

If Ja took any offense to the insult, he didn't show it. "We were investigating a Vex anomaly. I hadn't even heard of anything like this happening before. Vex simply appearing out of thin air. No darkness, no portal, just there."

Likewise, if the Hunter was troubled by any of this, he didn't show it. "Well, let's get you two Tower dwellers home. Oh and the name is 72, just 72."

* * *

"You two find anything yet?" asked 72 walking into the Guardians' library. The two Warlocks had been hunting through every book or record they could on the Vex.

"Nope," said Rand.

"You know, it might go faster if you actually helped us," added Ja.

"Hey, I am helping."

"How is hanging in a bar helping us?" demanded Ja.

"What do Exo's even do in a bar?" questioned Rand.

Ignoring Rand, 72 said: "I'm busy talking to my old hunting buddies. I'm not out in the field as much as they all are anymore. One of them actually might know something. An Awoken called Kaleb. He tagged around with a Fireteam who claimed to have known Osiris. If anyone is going to know anything, he is our best bet."

"What do you say Rand, want to go meet this Kaleb dude?"

"Anything to get out of here, I hate reading."

"You're a Warlock Rand, don't you literally read all the time?" asked 72.

"Why do you think I hate it?"

"Fair enough. Hey, Ja, can you even see out of your eyes to read?"

"You're an Exo too, 72."

"Yea, but your eyes are weird."

"How in the world are- they're exactly the same as yours!"

The three of them continued to mess with each other on the way to Kaleb. 72 really hit it off with the two Warlocks on the flight to Earth. As soon as he was out of the Wilderness he started to loosen up. 72 was funny that way for a Hunter. He seemed to avoid being out in the wilderness and prefer everything else, as evident by his set of crucible armor and weapons.

The three Guardians walked into the bar and 72 gestured to Kaleb. Rand looked at him and and saw his Dead Orbit Cloak. He instinctively reached for his pulse rifle but stopped when the throwing knife from the Awoken grazed his hand.

"I will warn you once that drawing your weapon against me is not in your best interest, Court Jester," the Awoken growled, his blue eyes like glowing ice. "Continue, and the next one goes in your eye." As he spoke, he pulled his right arm up, revealing a second throwing knife.

"That's enough," demanded 72.

"Let it go Rand, let it go," said Ja grabbing his fellow Warlock's sleeve, "Let it go,"

Rand let his hand slide away from his pulse rifle, blood dripping onto his robe. His eyes flared and it looked like he wanted to engulf the Awoken in front of him in flames.

"Whatever," Rand said.

"Now," said 72, "Could you please tell these two what you said to me, Kaleb."

"It would be a pleasure to enlighten this Court Jester," said Kaleb menacingly, "I've heard many stories from my childhood in the reef and from when I was a member of Fireteam Outcasts. Hive rituals that are more light than dark, Fallen creations that no guardian would ever dream of, and even Vex appearing from nothing." Seeing Rand perk up at the last one, Kaleb grinned an almost feral grin. "I see I have piqued your interest. I don't know where this report comes from but I'll share it with you," Kaleb's voice had slowly lost his menace as he spoke and now it was replaced by a hint of darkness that only an Awoken can muster. "The Labyrinth, inside is a gate. The gate is not light, but it is not the darkness."

"I traveled the ruins of Mercury through the endless dreams and counted the infinite red lights, each a star of its own ruled by the orbit of a greater star. Every star led back to the gate. The master of the gate sleeps, a separate star from the others. In its sleep it directs them forward and backward, to the gate and not to it. The gate lays buried in a sea of darkness, grown deeper and deeper with every use. The master and the gate are guarded by a sun so bright it lights the sea," his voice seeming to silence the sounds around them.

"The Leviathan makes its home in the sea. It does not know of the light, nor does it know of the darkness it burrows through. All it knows is that it and its suns must devour the hearts of those who are not suns. It does not obey the suns, but it protects their slumber and passage."

"My dreams do not end, but the slumber does."

The three Guardians sat silent for a moment, mesmerized by Kaleb's voice.

"What does any of that even mean?" asked Rand after a moment.

"What it means, my witless Warlock, is you have some studying to do, and a great team to gather," Kaleb replied. "As much as I would love for any New Monarch to learn a lesson in power the hard way, I wish you the best of luck in your endeavor. 72, if you guys need me for anything, you know where to find me," he finished, standing and walking out of the bar, grabbing his knife out of the wall on his way out.

"Well then," said Ja.


	3. Chapter 3: Darkness in the Light

_Ignoring the challenge itself, the constant pain caused by the fighting of the Crucible is too much for some Guardians. But other's thrive in the environment, relish the pain. Glory is earned. Friendships are built. Most of all, rivalries grown. Very rarely, though, all three occur together.._

_Excerpt taken from Tales of the Crucible_

Rand yelled in frustration at the papers scattered around him. He couldn't make heads or tails of what most of it meant. What was this Leviathan; let alone what its slumber was. The one thing he found, he wished he hadn't. The labyrinth was the Vanguards name for the inside of Mercury. Endless tunnels and machines that no Guardian had ever gotten more than a few transmissions out before they went silent. What reports that did come out of there talked about a force of darkness draining their light, an endless flood of Minotaurs, and a room. A few of those who were strong enough to survive the Vex claimed that the maze was shifting around them, a hallway they walked through turning into a wall behind them. All of this seemed to be directing them to a single location. Only one team ever transmitted from there.

_-Nightmare, -cut- everyone's nightmare -cut- no where -cut- run-_

There wasn't very much to it, but something about the Guardian's voice sent a shiver down Rand's spine. He had seen many terrors in his life. There was many of them he did not want to face again.

Rand rubbed his eyes and picked up his helmet. The papers would still be there later. It had been too long since the last time he had been to the city. He had someone he needed to see.

Carrying his helmet under his arm Rand left the New Monarchy Archives and walked out onto the street. The sight of the city always made Rand smile some. All of these people running about. Safe. Whenever he saw them, the mother with her children; the well dressed man walking fast, late to work or a meeting. No matter how bad the city seemed sometimes, it was better than anyone outside of it could even imagine. He just couldn't see why anyone would want to join the Dead Orbit, leave all of this they had worked for. In the Monarchy you were always told to know what it is you are fighting for. Some Guardians fought because it was all they had left;, others fought out of pleasure, relishing the kill; members of the Monarchy choose to fight for this, to protect all of these people. Rand, however, fought for one.

After walking a few blocks into the city, Rand turned and walked up to a small home and palmed the door. He walked as the door opened and set his helmet down on a table next to the door. He heard footsteps coming towards him and looked up.

"Daddy!"

72 stopped right outside the door and turned his head looking at Ja.

"Listen, this guy can be, well- an ass. So could you just stay here for a moment and... yea."

"Yea."

"Ya."

"Ja."

"Ja?"

"Ja."

72 shook his head and walked in, closing the door behind him. Ja just sighed a little and waited. He had just started to sit down when he heard the thud of a shotgun. Pulling out his MIDA Multi-Tool, Ja shoved the door open and saw the body of his friend sprawled on the ground, all that remained of his head was a few sparking wires. A bulking Titan stood over him and kicked his side with his boot- Holdfast Type 2, Vanguard issued, matching the rest of his armor. Resting in his hand was the shotgun Universal Remote and strapped to his back was Zombie Apocalypse WF47. Subclass Striker. Race human. Blood type O. All of this Ja-119's processors analyzed in microseconds.

"Drop the shotgun," Ja demanded raising his gun at the Titan.

The Titan raised its head and stared at Ja.

"I said drop it."

The shotgun flew at Ja smacking him in the face. He turned to aim his Scout Rifle just as a fist slammed into his face. Ja stumbled backwards and blocked the next punch with his gun shoving the Titan back a step. Before he could attack again, Ja's Energy Drain pushed him back further. The Titan yelled, then charged Ja before he could try to ready his weapon again. The force sent Ja sprawling on the floor with crushing arms wrapped around his head.

"Let him go Fisch," came 72's voice followed by the sound of a Fusion Rifle.

Rand smiled at the girl asleep beside him. He had only planned to stay a few minutes, well maybe an hour if he was honest, but certainly not the ten hours that passed by. Emma didn't stop talking for a solid hour.

It had been nearly six months since the Vanguard had let him off of Venus. He didn't do as much for the Monarchy as he used too. Most of his time was spent doing research for the Vanguard or looking after Emma. It never seemed to bother her how much he seemed to be gone, but it was always something he regretted.

Emma had just finished fifth grade at the New Monarchy school and was at the head of her class. She had always been exceptionally bright, and Rand was sure her future was going to be as bright as she was. He never met her parents before the were killed by the Hive, but he hoped he had raised her well enough for them. He loved when Emma called him Daddy; every time she said it, it filled him with joy. However, it also made him wonder if he was doing as good a job as they would have.

Navi helped a lot. She had barely seemed more than a girl herself when she first had started helping Rand, but she always proved to be a great help. She may have been Rand's assistant, but she was like a big sister to Emma. Navi was right now curled up next to Emma asleep on the couch. She had stayed up a while longer than Emma chatting with Rand.

"How's Newt been while I've been away?" asked Rand. "Staying out of trouble?"

Navi, blushing at the mention of Newt, said: "Yes, he has been doing fine Sir. He's been away for the past two weeks for the Monarchy. Something on Mars."

"Navi, are you blushing?" chuckled Rand.

"No," she lied.

"Oh come now Navi, you and Newt have been together for how long now, and you're still blushing?"

Navi didn't answer but just looked down, her face red.

"Hey Navi, just wondering but since you're dating Newt, do you know, like, what an Exo has? You know, down there?"

She didn't answer, but she did look up and glare at Rand through her hair.

"Do you have any idea how much that hurts?" demanded 72.

"Oh shut up, you have you ever been hit by one of your damn fusion rifle rounds," said Fisch

The three of them had moved to a table another room and were sitting chatting with each other. When the Titan had released him, Ja was ready to keep fighting. However, 72 and Fisch holstered their weapons.

"So how exactly do you two know each other then?" asked Ja.

"This guy is the most annoying Fusion Rifle Prick there is," said Fisch.

72 nodded slightly, "Master Blaster. Fisch here is the most overpowered, shoulder charging Titan you'll ever meet,"

"So Fisch," asked 72, "Do you think we can convince you and your stupid Fisch of Havoc to come help us?"

"Go on an uncertain quest to do an uncertain thing with uncertain odds of survival, hell yea lets do this."

"Fisch, I like you."


End file.
